About Me

Staten Island, New York, United States
I've worked in the FDNY for the past 29 years. I've written freelance commentary for the past twenty years and have one book published "Looking Up (A Working View)," Quiet Storm Publishers. For those of you with whom my ideas resonate, we probably share a common love of Liberty. If you like anything you read here, feel free to reuse...just please add my appellation. Life's been more than fair to me and this is a part of my humble offering back. If you have any corrections, or additions, please email me (my email address is in my profile) and I’ll both appreciate and consider them all and do my best to get back to you with my thoughts on it. My ideas are always evolving and I’m open to persuasion in all areas. I thank all those who've taken some of their time to read here.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<No other large city comes close to New York's obscene tax bite, an outrageous $9.02 for every $100 of gross taxable income!Philly comes in second at $7.16 per $100 gross taxable income (over 20% LESS), LosAngeles came in third at $6.88 per $100 gross taxable income (almost 25% LESS).In fact, New York's tax bite is 47% higher than the average of $6.16 tax bite per $100 gross taxable income, the other eight cities with populations of over 1 million people have.And according to New Yorkers who've left the Big Apple for other places, that bigger tax bite DOESN'T translate into better services. The NY Daily News quoted Michael Boccio, a former-New Yorker, who left for Chicago in 1991, who said, "In general, the policing, fire protection and ambulance response is better here. Having lived in New york and made the move, I can say that dollar for dollar, the quality of life is higher in Chicago."Ronnie Lowenstein of the Independent Budget Office (IBO) said, "We always knew that New York City was high, I think some people may have assumed that was partly offset by lower-than-average state taxes. We don't have a lower than average state tax bite offsetting the local tax. That was kind of a surprise to us."The IBO also found that despite the lavish spending, the poverty rate in NYC stood at 19.6%, above the big city average of 19.2%Kathy Wylde, of the New York Partnership (a business advocacy group) said, "It's a very high hurdle for a city that's trying to diversify its economy. The only way we're going to stay competitive is by reducing taxes."In a related story;New York City Council Speaker, Christine Quinn has been trying to be seen as New York City's "ethics and reform candidate, only her record belies that stance. Her tenure has actually worsened NY C's reliance on "special interest politics."

To be sure, Quinn and her cohorts have banned Corporate special interest contributions, but NOT those from Labor Unions and other social activist special interests. This has made New York City politics increasingly beholden to Union and social interest special interest groups, a path that inexorably leads to increasing spending, higher taxes and ultimately an increased pace for the exodus of businesses from the City.If you want to see the dysfunction of Liberal policies, just come to New York City, they're on full display.

Yes, that's right Mal, she's promised a tax rebate to renters, though I'm still trying to figure out how that will work - after all, it's the building owners who pay the property taxes...and YES, most NYC are at least "rent STABALIZED," even though less and less are "rent CONTROLLED" (ironically enough, it's usually very well-off people, like Mia Farrow and Ed koch who've been able to keep rent controlled apartments in Manhattan).

You're not missing a thing, Mal. You can see that Ms Quinn is pandering. She can see that there are far more renters than owners, so she knows which side of fence she wants to appear to be on.

She also knows, like every politician, that if you talk "compassionately," you can institute some of the most misguided, disastrous and burdensome policies upon the very people you've promised to "help."